An electronic apparatus includes a case, a fan, a plurality of electronic parts, and a heat sink mounted for each electronic part. The heat sink includes a fluid unit, and a shutter plate controlling the quantity of air flowing in the heat sink through an action of the fluid unit actuated by heat of the electronic part. The fluid unit includes a container with liquid. The container is heated from the electronic part. When generated heat of the electronic part is large, the fluid inside the container expands, allowing the shutter plate to operate in an opening direction increasing the quantity of air flowing in the heat sink, and in a case when a generated heat quantity of the electronic part is small, the fluid inside the container shrinks, allowing the shutter plate to operate in a closing direction reducing the quantity of air flowing in the heat sink.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An electronic apparatus comprising; a case, a fan, a plurality of electronic parts arranged in said case, and a heat sink, provided for each of said electronic parts, positioned to receive air generated by said fan, thereby cooling the corresponding electronic part, wherein said heat sink includes: a fluid unit; and a shutter plate for controlling the quantity of air generated by said fan and flowing to said heat sink in response to an action of said fluid unit actuated by heat of said corresponding electronic part.
2. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1 : wherein the fluid unit includes a container with fluid; wherein said container is arranged relative to a corresponding electronic part so that heat of said corresponding electronic part is conducted to said container; and wherein when a generated heat quantity of an electronic part is large, the fluid inside the corresponding container expands, thereby allowing the shutter plate to operate in an opening direction to increase the quantity of air flowing in the heat sink, and in a case when a generated heat quantity of the electronic part is small, the fluid inside the corresponding container shrinks, thereby allowing the shutter plate to operate in a closing direction to reduce the quantity of air flowing in the heat sink.
3. The electronic apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the shutter plate is provided to respond to air flow at the inlet and/or at the outlet of the heat sink.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
February 25, 2008
September 1, 2009
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